Getting started with nRF5 SDK and SES (nRF51 & nRF52 …

1 Getting started with nrf5 SDK and SES ( nrf51 & nRF52 series ) Getting started / 2020-04-02 ContentsRevision history..iii1 Introduction..42 Minimum requirements..53 Development kits, PCA numbers, and chips..64 SoftDevices..75 Running a first test..86 Setting up your toolchain.. Nordic tools and downloads .. Setting up the nrf5 SDK .. Installing SEGGER tools .. Installing the nRF Command Line Tools .. 147 Programming an application.. Erasing the kit .. Importing Keil projects .. Compiling the application .. Configuring placement of the SoftDevice .. Programming the firmware .. Adding files .. Adding source files .. Including header files .. 268 Communicating with the kit.. Connecting via RTT.

2 Connecting via RTT on Windows .. Connecting via RTT on Linux .. Connecting via CDC-UART .. 299 Testing the application.. Testing with a mobile device .. Testing with a computer .. 3210 Debugging..34 Glossary .. 36 Acronyms and abbreviations..37 Recommended reading..38 Legal notices..391159720_163 historyDateDescriptionApril 2020 Changed the document title to clarify that this Getting started Guide targetsthe nrf5 SDK Editorial changesSeptember 2019 Fixed broken linksJanuary 2019 Updated Importing Keil projects on page 16 October 2018 Added Adding files on page 25 July 2018 First release1159720_163 guide will help you get started with your nrf51 or nRF52 series Development Kit (DK) and developingyour application with the nrf5 SDK with SEGGER Embedded Studio (SES).

3 If you have worked with any of Nordic Semiconductor's products before, you are probably familiar withthe Software Development Kit (SDK) and the required tools. In this case, this guide will mostly providereference this guide to set up your development toolchain so you can develop, program, test, and debug guide describes how to work with SES. SES is a cross-platform Integrated Development Environment(IDE), so you can run it on different operating systems. For use with Nordic Semiconductor devices, youcan get a free license that has no following Getting started Guides show how to work with different software development platformsand devices: Getting started with nRF Connect SDK (nRF53 series ) Getting started with nRF Connect SDK ( nRF52 series ) Getting started with nrf5 SDK and SES ( nrf51 & nRF52 series ) (this document) Getting started with nrf5 SDK and Keil ( nrf51 & nRF52 series )Check out the Nordic DevZone for additional setup information and requirementsEnsure that you have all the required hardware and that your computer fulfills the software requirements One of the following development kits.

4 NRF52840 DK nRF52833 DK nRF52 DK nrf51 DK Micro-USB cable Personal computer (PC) Optional for testing: Smartphone or tablet that supports Bluetooth Low Energy nRF52840 Dongle, nrf51 Dongle, or a second Nordic DKSoftware requirementsOne of the following operating systems: Windows 8 or Windows 10 macOS Linux1159720_163 kits, PCA numbers, andchipsNordic Semiconductor's software tools either target the chip that is soldered onto the kit's developmentkit, or target the development kit following table lists the PCA number and the chip bundled in each kitPCA numberChipnRF52840 DKPCA10056nRF52840nRF52840 DonglePCA10059nRF52840nRF52833 DKPCA10100nRF52833nRF52 DKPCA10040nRF52832/nRF52810nRF51 DKPCA10028nRF51422nRF51 DonglePCA10031nRF51422 Table 1: Relation between development kits, PCA numbers, and chips1159720_163 SoftDevice is a wireless protocol stack that complements an nrf5 series System on Chip (SoC).

5 Nordic Semiconductor provides them as qualified, precompiled binary files. While it is possible to buildapplications without using a SoftDevice, all nrf5 SDK example applications that use Bluetooth Low Energyor ANT require a the compatibility matrices for detailed information about which SoftDevice versions are supported foreach chip. The following table summarizes the usage scenarios for each nRF51422 nRF51822S110 nRF52810 nRF52832S112 Peripheral nRF52833S113 Central or Peripheral nRF51422 nRF51822S120 nRF51422 nRF51822S130 nRF52832S132 Bluetooth Low EnergyCentral and Peripheral nRF52833 nRF52840S140 nRF51422S210 ANT nRF52832S212 Peripheral nRF51422S310 Peripheral and Broadcaster nRF52810S312 nRF52832S332 Bluetooth Low Energy and ANTAll roles nRF52840S340 Table 2.

6 SoftDevice overview1159720_163 a first testBefore you start developing, program and run a precompiled application on your development kitto ensure that the kit functions as expected and the communication between your computer anddevelopment kit the latest compatible version of the nrf5 nrf5 SDK contains precompiled HEX files of the most common examples. Extract the zip file into afolder of your information about which SDK supports which IC revisions, check the compatibility up the development kit:a) Connect one end of a micro-USB cable to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector on the kitand the other end to one of your PC's USB host ) Slide the power switch to that LED1 starts a file explorer and confirm that the development kit has appeared as a removable drive Windows, you should see a pop-up window similar to this:1159720_163 a first the folder where you extracted the nrf5 SDK, navigate to examples\ble_peripheral\ble_app_hrs\ the HEX file that corresponds to your development kit and copy it to the JLINK development kit will now restart and run the application.

7 Note that while restarting, the JLINK drive will be and install the Nordic nRF Toolbox app from Google Play or App nRF : Enable Bluetooth if simulated heart rate and battery charge percentage is more advanced testing scenarios, see Testing the application on page , continue to set up your development toolchain and build and program an application from thesource up your toolchainBefore you can start developing, you must install the required software. This software includes tools toconnect to your development kit, an IDE for developing your application, and the nrf5 SDK that provideslibraries and example Nordic tools and downloads on page 10 for an overview of available tools and the links todownload the latest versions for your operating following tools are required for this Getting started Guide: nrf5 SDK SEGGER J-Link Software and Documentation Pack SEGGER Embedded Studio (SES)The following tool is optional: nRF Command Line Tools (including nrfjprog)See the following sections for installation Nordic tools and downloadsThis overview lists all available Nordic Semiconductor tools and supported IDEs.

8 Not all of these tools arerequired. To help you pick the IDE and tools you want to use, see the following sections for common IDEPick one of the IDEs with a compiler supported by Nordic:IDEW indowsLinuxOSXSEGGER EmbeddedStudio (SES)YesYesYesMDK-ARM Keil VisionYesNoNoGNU/GCCYesYesYesIARYesNoNoS ES is the recommended platform. It is free for use with nRF toolsYou need to download these Nordic tools to develop with our up your toolchainToolDescriptionDownloadDocument ationProtocolSDK(SoftwareDevelopmentKit) Applicationexamples, sourcefiles, SoftDevicesWindows/LinuxnRF5 SDK SDK for SDK for Threadand Zigbee andZigbeenRFCommandLine ToolsCollection ofcommand linetools, like nrfjprog,mergehexnRF Command Line ToolsnRF Command LineToolsBLE/ANTO ptional toolsThese tools are not essential, but we recommend that you use up your toolchainToolDescriptionDownloadDocument ationProtocolSoftDeviceWireless protocolstackCompatible downloadsfor nRF52840 Compatible downloadsfor nRF52833 Compatible downloadsfor nRF52832 Compatible downloadsfor nRF52811 Compatible downloadsfor nRF52810 Compatible downloadsfor nRF51822 Compatible downloadsfor nRF51422nRF51 SoftDeviceSpecificationsnRF52 SoftDeviceSpecificationsBLE/ANTnRF Connect forDesktopExpandable desktoptool with several apps.

9 Including: Peer deviceemulator Power Profiler Programmer Cloud GatewaynRF Connect forDesktopnRF ConnectBluetooth Low EnergyBLEnRF Connect forMobilePeer device emulatorapp for smartphonesAndroid or laterIOS v8 or laterBLEN ordic nRF ToolboxappApp that contains allthe Nordic appsAndroid or laterIOS v8 or laterWindows Phone laterBLEnRF pynrfjprogSimple Pythoninterface for thenrfjprog DLLnRF pynrfjprognRF pynrfjprogBLE/ANTANT ware IIPeer device emulatorfor the ANT protocolrunning on computersANTware IIANTnRF SnifferApp for monitoring on-air trafficnRF Sniffer downloadnRF Sniffer forBluetooth LEBLEnRF Thread TopologyMonitorTool for visualizingThread mesh networktopology in real timenRF Thread TopologyMonitor downloadpagenRF Thread TopologyMonitorThreadThread

10 BorderRouterGateway forconnecting ThreadThread Border RouterThread Border RouterThread1159720_163 up your toolchainToolDescriptionDownloadDocument ationProtocolnetwork to theInternetSee also Nordic mobile apps for a list of available Bluetooth Low Energy and Mesh mobile apps for iOS,Android, and Windows Setting up the nrf5 SDKThe nrf5 SDK does not require installation. You only need to download and extract the you followed the instructions in Running a first test on page 8, you already downloaded and extractedthe nrf5 SDK files and are all set the following steps to set up your SDK the nrf5 SDK zip you have an nRF52 device, select the latest version. For nrf51 devices, select the latest version withsupport for nrf51 (currently, ). For information about which SDK supports which IC revisions,check the compatibility the zip file to the directory that you want to use to work with the folder will be referred to as SDK_dir in the following : Compilers tend to run into problems with long path names.